Play AKB48 smartphone claw crane game Kami no Te to win Bakukan, cans of air

AKB48’s latest dubious attempt to exploit money from otaku fans is really scraping the bottom of the ludicrous barrel.

Now there is going to be an online claw crane game called Kami no Te (Hand of God) from June 18th that allows you to win cans of air.

Yes, you read that right. The prize for downloading and playing the game is Bakukan, which is literally a can filled with air. The precious ether is supposedly taken from the air on the stage at the AKB48 45th single release election event. So you are getting the air shared by your favorite idol, whether that be Yuki Kashiwagi, Rino Sashihara or any of the other young girls in the endless parade of ladies on the AKB payroll.

There are 30,000 cans are for grabs featuring the air of 272 idols. One can in 10 also has a message handwritten by the idol herself. You also get a photo of the idol taken during the “exciting” election.

Now that’s what we call a must-have purchase.

Playing the game costs ¥100 a try.

Here’s the promo video for the game, which is produced AKB head honcho Yasushi Akimoto.